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drawingboard CONTINUED rafter tails designed right The most basic traditional rafter tail has a simple plumb cut at the end of true 2x lumber, with the benefit of offering a robust surface for attaching a gutter. Rafter tails cut from true 2x material also can have a tapered bottom edge, which adds a subtle suggestion of the craftsman’s hand and a more modern appearance to the house. Landing on a purlin that extends beyond the gable wall to carry the roof overhang, these cottage-style rafter tails are based on the Italianate style and are cut from lumber at least 2 in. thick. Fitting on a Victorian or Georgian home, this rafter-tail profile would traditionally have been cut in hand-hewn rafters, possibly as thick as 3 in. These Arts and Crafts–style rafter tails are drawn from the traditional style of the early 1900s and seem to be reaching out to grab the integral gutter. On this modern house, the extralong rafter tails are given a new function: to create a sunscreen for shading the floor-to-ceiling windows underneath. energy-smart rafter tails are not continuous A more thermally efficient approach to rafter tails is to end the roof rafters at the top plate and add a rafter-tail assembly at the eave. The assembly of rafter tails and tongue-and-groove boards that create the appearance of sheathing from below can be built on the ground and installed as one piece or in sections. In this detail, wood struts extend from the top of the assembly into the roof, where they are sistered to the roof rafters to support the overhang. 1 Tongue-and-groove boards 2 3 4 5 Construction lags Frieze board Rafter tail Strut 1 4 94 FINE HOMEBUILDING 5 3 2